Fire-escape



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Y C. KEER. l

FIRE ESCAPE. No. 291,601. PatentedJan. 8, 1884.

(No Medel.) 4 Sheets--SheebL C. KEHR.` `FIRE ESCAPE.

lNo. 291,601. Patented Ja,11.v8; 1884.`

4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

FIRE ESCAPE.

I V110. 291,601. Patented Jan. s, 1884.

lU'NiTnnl STATES PATENT @Tirreni CYRUS KEI-IR, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS,

FI RE-ESCAPE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 291,601, dated January` B, 1884.

' Appl-cation filed February 27, 1883. (No modul.)

To au whom, it may concern:

`ne it known that LcrRUsKni-m, or chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois` have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fire-Escapes; and I do hereby `declare that the following is a full, cleaim,` and y exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the let- "ters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification. p

This invention relates to ladder fire-escapes, and may be referred more particularly to that class of said escapes which are permanently attached to the exterior of large buildings, such as hotels, mercantile houses, and manuground, and standing-places for firemen, both fat a considerable distance from said building,

in` order that persons escaping from the building when on fire, and firemen fighting the fire `from positions on said escape, will be, as much as is practicable, out of the reach of the heat, names, smoke, and falling brands or other objects issuing or falling from such building, and from the current of heated air risingnext to `the building, thereby rendering such escape way and inaccessible from the ground, and as Anot to produce an objectionable effect on the appearance of the building to which it is attached; fourth, the escape must beso simple in construction and operation that it may always be changed from its position of rest to its position for use without complication or delay; fifth, the escape must be provided with simple means for eifectually freeing it of snow and ice when the latter are deposited upon it.

To these ends the invention consists in the `matters hereinafter described and s et forth, and particularly pointed out in the claims I am aware that certain forms of .folding- `ing with the platforms.

. `ladder escapes have heretofore been attached to buildings. For example, ladders having their rounds hinged to the uprights, so as to constructed, two side rails being attached tothe building close to each other, and the rungs of oneinclined toward those of the other, and connecting with acommon freeside rail, which latter, upon folding, lies against the wall midway between the two fixed side rails. A rigid vertical ladder has also been set at right angles to and against the wall and hinged thereto in such manner as to allow the ladder to rotate horizontally on its inner side rail and lie flatwise against the building.` A folding escape has also been made having aseries of horizon- `tal platforms extending along the wall beneath the windows, and hinged to turn upwardflatwise against the wall, each of such platforms having a central hatchway, from the outer side of which an independent section of ladder is hinged, and extends obliquely inward anddownward almost to the platform next below, at which point it is linked to the wall, said section being adapted to fold against the build- Ordinary fixed balconies have also been arranged along a wall in a vertical series and connected with each other by oblique independent ladder-sections, each of the latter being adapted to fold upward against the balcony next above it; but it will readily appear that these differ from my invention, in that in these the ladders are permanently in contact with or close to the building.

In the ladders described as being continu-' ous one side of the ladder rests permanently against the building. In the escape having the folding platforms the lower end of each ladder-section rests practically against the wall. Moreover, it would be objectionable to so construct this escape as to place even the upper ends of the ladder-sections as far from the building as I propose to place my entire ladder, for the reason that` to pass the laddersections through a hatchway in the folding platform necessitates the use of a wide platform, and if the platform is wide it must not I OO be made long, else it will cover too much of the wall, and will in many situations partially cover the windows. In my escape the bridges to be described need be no wider than the ladder itself, and may therefore be of any desired length. It will also be seen that my escape differs further from the one to which I have just made reference,in that in the latter the ladder-sections,when folded, are partly or wholly covered by the platforms when the escape is folded, while in my escape the ladder is not covered by any of the other parts,which will be hereinafter shown to constitute an important feature. In the case of the fixed balconies the entire sections must beset close to the wall, for the obvious reason that it would be objectionable and impracticable to extend fixed balconies farl enough outward from the wall to allow the ladder-sections to be placed at any considerable distance from such Wall. I do not, therefore, lay claim to a nre-escape having a ladder which merely folds or collapses', but is practically stationary and not designed to be shifted bodily amaterial distance from the building for the p urposesabove mentioned.

I am also aware that it is not new to use a stand-pipe as an upright in a ladder, and do not, therefore, claim the same as my invention.

In the accompanying` drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of a building` provided `withtwo of my improved escapes, one standing in position for use and the other folded against the building. Fig. 2 is a detail perspective view of a preferred form of the passage-ways between the ladder and the building. Fig. 3 illustrates a counter-balance for holding'the ladder against the building. Fig. 4; shows an oblique ladder-section extending from the upper end of the main ladder to the roof. Fig. 5 is a front elevation, partly in section, of a hinge pipe-coupling used to join the pipe of the main ladder to that of the short section leading to the roof. Figs. 6, 7, and 8 illustrate a folding platform on the outside of the'main ladder. Fig. 9 shows a ladder constructed for melting the ice therefrom by means of steam.

v Referring to said drawings, A is a vertical ladder,set at a suitable distance-say ten or fifteen feet--from a building, C, and in a plane parallel to the adjacent wall of said building. A' is a stand-pipe, shown as constituting one of the uprights or side rails of the ladder.

A2 is the opposite upright, and a a are the the rounds of the ladder.

vThe stand-pipe A', when used, is provided at or near its lower end with an inlet and coupling device, as a', for the attachment of hose from the fire-engines, and along its sides and upper end it has valved outlets a2 ci and means for attaching hose at such outlets. The rounds a a and the upright A2 may extend down? ward even with the lower end of the standpipe A', or the lower portion of the latter may beleft naked, as shown in Fig. l. The object of the latter construction is to make the ladder, when folded, inaccessible from the ground in case it is not lifted upward far enough in folding to otherwise place the end thereof out of the reach of persons standing on the ground. I prefer to have the base of the ladder, when in position for use, rest on the ground, the weight vof the ladder and most of the parts connected therewith being supported on such base. When the ladder is thus supported, and the lower end of the stand-pipe is continued beyond the lower end of the ladder, as above set forth, said naked end of the standpipe should be bent laterally toward the vertical line of center of the ladder, as shown in Fig. l, so as `to bring the point of' support within said line of center; but said ladder may, if so desired, be supported from the wall, and not allowed to quite reach the ground. Theladder may be joined to the building -in various ways, and I do not limit myself to the means shown below. rIhe construction shown is preferred, as being simple and economical.

B B are horizontal links, hinged by their ends to the ladder A and the wallof the building C. Said links may be plain rods ori-bars, and may be arranged eitherin pairs or singly. If rod or bar links are used, it is best tov arrange them in pairs, as shown in Fig. l, the outer ends thereof being hinged one to each of the uprights A' A2, and by preference diverging somewhat from thence to the wall, one pair being about opposite the base of IOO the adjacent window or windows, D, .and

another pair being placed, say, three or four feet higher, in order that the two on either side may together constitute a bridge and rail for the escape of occupants of the building from the windows to the ladder and for 'the passage of firemen to and from the building. A preferred form of such bridge is illustrated in Fig. 2. It is there shown as being composed of a broad frame-link and two rod-links,located one on either side of and a short distance above said frame-link, said rod-links constituting the railings and said frame-link the iioor of the bridge. Said frame-link may be of any kind of 'flat horizontal structure hinged by its outer end to the ladder and by its inner end to the wall, and of sufficient strength to support the weight of one or more persons. In said figure the frame or floor-link is shown as consisting of two side rods, B' B', two end rods, B2 B2, and an intervening structure of coarse wirehetting, B3. The wire netting makes a comparatively light and yet sufliciently strong floor, and is less conspicuous when folded against the building, and less likely to retain accumulations of `snow and ice between itself' and the'building than a solid floor would be. rIhis form of bridge af fords a safe passage between the building and the ladder, and also constitutes an excellent standing-place for the firemen while directingstreams of water into the adjacent parts of the building. Said linksand bridges need not, however, be identical. Folding bridges may IIO ISO

extend from the ,wall to the ladder without being so Vconneetedwith` the ladder as tobe sup.- `ported by it. Indeed the bridges neednot be joined to the ladder at all, but may be swung `from the wall ofithebuilding after the mauner` of a drawvbridge.

I` order that the above-described bridges or passage-ways may be more easily accessible `from `the windows nearest thereto, said wi`ndows may be provided with ordinary perma `nent balconies, D', as showniin Fi l. ,i i

It is obvious that.` if `so desired, the fladder maybe set directly opposite a vertical `series of windows and the inner ends of the` bridges be made to meet the bases of the windows,`so thatja person passing out of one of said windows will at once land upon thel bridgeopposite "such window. This would, however, be `objectionable in `many eases, for the reason that theescape, when folded, `would obstruct the windows, and `would also be accessible from only one series of windows, whereas when set `between two series` oi'iwindows it is accessible `fromeach of such two series. Different means of raising and securiugthe gladder against thebuilding may be used. `For example, a `windlass and chain may serve to hoist and a` ratchet to secure it, and fromthe ratcheta cord may depend, by means of which `Said ratchet maybedisengaged; or the ladder may be `hoisted by hand and secured by any suitable catch and provided with means for disengagement. q, Ilprefer, however, to use a "suitably disposed counteracting weight lor spring, (or a set of eithen) which shall exert sufficient liftingpower on the ladder, after it has been hoisted upward, say, half-way, or `thereabout,by hand or other means independent of such weight or springs, to draw and hold it against the building. In Fig. 3 I show such aweight designated by the letter E. It is connected with the ladder A by a chain or rope, E', running over an elevated fixed pulley, El. It will be observed that if such weight E is, for example, about `half as heavy as the ladder A it will not of itself be suiiicient to lift said ladder when set outon the ground but after said ladder has `beenraised by hand or otherwise until alittle more `than half its weightis sup- `ported on the linksB B, the weightE will draw the ladder to the y building-and hold it there. `.This constitutesacomplete hoisting andsecuring mechanism. It requires no special securing or disengaging devices, and the weight E and chain E arenot designed to be `acted -upon directlybythe occupants oi' the building, as is done inthe case of some old devices. `Onthe contrary, saidchain and w eight are to beso disposed asto be as much out of the way yand out of sight as` maybe.

The manner of setting the escape out in`positiou for use is as follows: One ormore of the occupantsof thebuilding mount the ladder `from an adjacent window or windows,and by their weight overcome the force of the weight E, and the combined weights ofthe persons andthe ladder draw the escape outward and downward until it `rests on the ground. The person or persons on the ladder may materially expedite such outward movement by pushing against the wall with one foot, thereby giving the ladder an impetus which will speedilyl carry it beyond the balancing point. Should there be no one within the building to set the ladder out, it may be mounted from the ground by means of a short ladder, or it may be drawn o nt by means of a hook.

If provision is to be made for communication between the ladder A (whose upper end will usually reach no higher than the uppermost bridge) and the roof of the building I propose to use an oblique section of ladder extending from the upper end of ladder A to the roof. `Such a section is represented by G in Fig. `4. It may be a link or chain ladder attached permanently by its ends to the ladder A and the edge of the roof of the building C, and adapted to collapse and fold with ladder A when the latter is folded against the building. It may also be a rigid ladder hinged to the top of ladder A by its lower end, and ing its upper end resting loosely in a guide, G3, at or near the edge of the roof, andl arranged toslide upward and rest on the latter when the escape is folded. Vhen the rigidsection Vis used, it may be` provided with a water-pipe. G, similar topipe A in ladder A, the adjacent ends of said pipes being united by any suitable iiexible joint, G2. A form of such joint specially adapted to this situation is shown at Fig. 5. The end of pipe A is bent laterally at right angles to its length and within the plane of the ladder A. The adjacent end of pipe G is bent laterally at right angles to its length, but in the direction opposite to that of the end of thepipe A and in the plane of ladder G. The ends of the pipes are exteriorly threaded and run oppositely into the interiorly-threaded thimble, g, until they meet, said thimble being by preference seated irnmovably upon one of said pipe ends. It is, the design to so adjust the threads of the'thimble and pipe ends as that said ends will be screwed tightly together when the escape is set out for use, and slightly unscrewed when the escape is folded. As further security against leal@ age, an annular elastic packing, g', maybe inserted between the ends of pipes A and G', such packing being compressed when the es1 cape is set out.

H, Figs. 6, 7, and S, isi a small platform on the outer side of the ladder A, designed asa standingplace for a iremanwin case he does notl want to stand on one olY the bridges B. Said platform has a pair of hooks, lt h, at its inner end, arranged toengage the side rails, A A2, or a rung, a, and `lie loosely on a rung, a The outer side of the platform H is supported by a pair of oblique rods, h h', hinged by theirupper ends to said lplatform and by their` lower ends to a rung,ci, or to the ,uprights A A2. Then netused, this platform IOO IIO

duction ofstea-m will readily raise the temvtherewith above the freezing-p oint.

building, a continuous upright ladderconis pushed through the ladder A and allowed to hang in a vertical position on the inner side of said ladder, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8.

Fig. 9 illustrates a method of and means for freeing the escape of ice and snow. One or both of the side rails, A A2, of the ladder are made of piping, and fitted for the connection of a steam-supply pipe, as at I. The introperaturc of the ladder andthe parts connected The most effect-ive method of thus using steamis to pass it upward through one upright and downward through the other. The ladder shown in Fig. 9 is constructed for using this method. The steam passes upward through pipe A, and at its upper end through a connectingpipe, J, into pipe A', and down the latter to a returnpipe leading to the boiler-plant. When the pipe A is a stand-pipe, the connectingpipe J is provided with a cut-off valved', and ashort outlet-pipe, K, having a cut-off valve, 7c, is placed near the lower end of pipe A', the ends of said pipe being closed with caps. These valves are to be closed when the stand-pipe is to be used for conducting water.

Some person having the care of the building should promptly melt the icc off the escape whenever it accumulates, in order that the escape may be ready for use at any time.

I claim as my inventionl. In afire-escape attached permanently to a structed to rest closely against such building when not in use, and to be shifted bodily to a material distance therefromwhen it is to be used, substantially as herein set forth.

2. In a ladder Ere-escape adapted to be set at a distance from or shifted against thebuilding, the combination of the l-adder Aand links B, hinged to such ladder and building, andarranged to move with such ladder in a vertical plane, substantially as shown, and for the purposes specified.

3. The combination,v with a continuous vertical fire-escape ladder, A, adapted to be folded against or set ata distance from the building with which it is connected, substantially as herein described, of folding passage-ways leading from the building to the ladder, substantially as set forth.

4. In a fire-escape having a continuous shifting ladder, the combination,with said ladder, of broad links and pairs of rod-links B, arranged with reference to each other as described, and hinged to the ladder by their outer ends and to the building by their inner ends, substantially as described, and for the purposes set forth.

5. The arrangement of a balcony, D', fold-- ing bridge B, and ladder A in such relation to each other and to a window, D, as to form a continuous passage from the latter to the ground, substantially as shown and described.

6. The combination, with an escape-ladder adapted to be shifted to a distance from the building, and to be mounted from the windows when resting against the building, as herein described, of a counter-balance the force of which is sufficient to hold the ladder, when folded, against the building, but which is not sufficient to resist the weight of the ladder when moved Afrom the wall or when a person mounts said ladder, thereby adapting said ladder to be set into position for use by being mounted by a person from the building, substantially as described.

7. The combination, with a folding ladderA escape adapted, when folded, to be mounted from the building, as herein described, of the wei ght E, chain E,and pulley E, said weight E holding such relation to the weight of the ladder as to be overcome when a person mounts the ladder when the escape is folded. substantially as shown,and for the purposes specified.

8. In a folding tire-escape having a Vertical ladder, A, and a shorter ladder-section, G, leading from the ladder A to the roof, the combination, with said ladders, of pipes A and G', hinged together in any suitable manner at their meeting` ends, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

9. In a folding fire-escape having a jointed stand-pipe, a joint formed by bending the meeting ends of the sections of such pipe laterally and inserting them oppositely into a sleeve and securing them therein, substantially as herein shown and described.

10. The combination, with the ladder A, of a platform, H, and braces h', said braces being hinged by their ends to the ladder and the outer side of the platform H, and said platform H being adapted to slide through the ladder A and lie against the inner side of said ladder, substantially as shown and described.

11. In a fire-escape having a non-collapsible ladder constructed wholly or in part of metallic piping, the combination, with said pip ing, of a coupling device or devices for connecting a supply-pipe from a steam generator or its equivalent, substantially as and for'the purpose set forth.

12. The method of freeing a ladder fire-escape of snow and ice, consisting of passing steam or its equivalent upward through one side rail of the ladder and downward through the other, substantially as herein set forth.

13. In a tire-escape ladder having hollow side rails, one of which is a stand-pipe, the combination, with said side rails, of a valved connectingpipe, J, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

14, In a ladder re-escapehaving hollow side rails, one of which is a stand-pipe, and the two communicating at or near their upper ends by means of the pipe J, the combination, with said stand-pipe, of a valved outlet, K, substantially as and for the purposes set' forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I subscribe my name hereunto in the presence of two witnesses.

Vitnesses: CYRUS KEHR.

W. E. DEIBLER, v AMBRosE RIsDoN.

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